Croquet game caddy

ABSTRACT

A croquet game caddy for removably retaining croquet game components for playing a croquet game. The caddy includes croquet mallet head retainers which retains the croquet mallet heads in an upwardly stacked pyramid configuration.

BACKGROUND

The game of croquet is typically played as a backyard lawn game. It can be played in many different ways, but is usually played with teams, with two or three players per team. The object of croquet is to use a mallet to hit colored balls through a course of wickets arranged on a yard or “court”. A typical croquet game with six players (three players per team) is played with nine wickets and six colored balls (blue, red, black, yellow, green and orange). The nine wickets are arranged on the court in a double diamond configuration with a double wicket and stake at each end of the double diamond configuration. One team plays the balls colored blue, black and green. The opposing team plays the balls colored red, yellow and orange. The order of play throughout the game is blue, red, black, yellow, green then orange. Each player must pass his/her respective ball through the course of wickets. Each player gets one shot per turn, but can earn extra shots if the player scores a wicket (i.e., hits the ball through a wicket) or strikes another ball (called a “roquet”). Scoring a wicket earns one bonus shot and “roquetting” earns two bonus shots. The first team to get all of their balls through the course of all nine wickets with each of the balls hitting the stake at each end of the course is the winner. As identified above, the game may vary depending on the number of players and whether the players are playing as teams and whether the game is played with six or nine wickets.

It should be appreciated, therefore that a typical croquet game set will include six colored balls, six mallets, nine wickets and two stakes. Thus, there is a need for a caddy that may be used for carrying and storing all of the game components in a convenient manner which will keep all of the game components together.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a croquet caddy with a complete set of croquet game components included.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded front perspective view of the croquet caddy of FIG. 1 with the game components removed.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the frame of the croquet caddy of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of one embodiment of the base of the frame of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals designate the same or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a croquet caddy 10. In FIG. 1, the croquet caddy 10 is shown holding a typical complete set of croquet game components, which typically includes six different colored balls 12, six mallets 14, nine wickets 16 (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2) and two stakes 18. FIG. 2 is the same perspective view of the croquet caddy of FIG. 1, but with the croquet game components removed for clarity and is partially exploded to better view and illustrate the elements of the caddy 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, the caddy 10 comprises a main frame 20 which includes two substantially parallel posts 22, 24, a handle support 30 and a base 40. Comparing FIGS. 2 and 3, and as described in more detail below, it can be seen that the posts 22, 24 operably support an upper retainer 50, lower stake holders 100, and mallet head retainers 110.

The posts 22, 24 are constructed of material that is sufficiently rigid to support the weight of the game components during transport, but yet are preferably lightweight to minimize the overall weight of the caddy 10 to reduce shipping costs and so that it is more easily transportable by players of all ages. For example, the posts 22, 24 may be constructed of thin walled hollow metal tubing or other sufficiently rigid, lightweight material of a desired cross-sectional configuration. The posts 22, 24 are received within bores 26 disposed on the underside of the handle support 30 and bores 28 disposed on the top side of the base 40. The posts 22, 24 may be retained in the bores 26, 28 by tapping screws (not shown).

The handle support 30 serves as a lateral brace for the upper end of the frame 20 and may be constructed of any suitably rigid and preferably lightweight material such as thermoformed plastic or other desirable material. The handle support 30 includes a handle grip 32 which may be telescopically received within the handle support 30 such that the handle grip 32 may move between an upwardly extended position and a downwardly collapsed position (as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2). In the upwardly extended position, the handle grip 32 is sufficiently raised to an elevation that avoids or reduces the need for a player to bend over or lean when pulling the caddy 10. The downwardly collapsed position provides the advantage of permitting the caddy 10 to be shipped in a shorter box than if the handle was fixed in the fully extended position. Thus, while a telescoping handle as embodied herein provides ergonomic advantages while pulling the caddy and the advantage of being able to ship the caddy in a shorter box, it should be appreciated that the handle grip 32 need not be telescoping and may be fixedly attached or formed integral with the handle support 30.

The base 40 includes a laterally extending cross-member 42 and a pair of fore and aft extending legs 44 secured to the underside of the cross-member 42 to stabilize and support the caddy in an upright position such that it does not easily tip over. As identified in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cross-member 42 includes recesses 43 into which the legs 44 are received and secured in place by a threaded connector 45 (FIG. 5). Alternatively, the legs 44 and the lateral brace 42 may be molded or otherwise formed as a unitary member. One end of the legs 44 support rollers or wheels 48 or alternatively one end of the legs 44 may support a wheeled axle extending between the legs so that the caddy may be pulled behind a player as he or she walks so the player does not need to lift and carry the caddy 10 which, when fully loaded with a complete set of the croquet game components, can be quite heavy for younger players.

The upper retainer 50 includes a crossbeam 52 with tubular sleeves 54, 56 at each end through which the posts 22, 24 are received. The upper retainer 50 may be secured to the posts 22, 24 by tapping screws 57 passing through the sleeves 54, 56 and into the posts 22, 24 Extending transversely from the crossbeam 52 is a transverse beam 58 which includes a plurality of spaced mallet handle clips 60 to retain the handles of the mallets 14 as shown in FIG. 1. As should be apparent from the drawings, the mallet handle clips 60 comprise tubular wall 62 with an inner diameter sized slightly larger than the diameter of the mallet handles. The tubular wall 62 includes a flared opening 64 having a width less than the diameter of the mallet handles such that by pressing the mallet handles into the flared opening 64 the tubular wall 62 will resiliently expand allowing the mallet handles to pass through the flared opening 64, after which the tubular walls 62 will resiliently return to their original position thereby retaining the mallet handle within the inner diameter of the tubular walls 62.

Each of the tubular sleeves 52, 53 include a stake clip 70 for retaining the upper end of the stakes 18. The stake clips 70 are substantially the same as the mallet handle clips 60.

Extending transversely from the crossbeam 52 are ball bag hooks 80 which receive a loop on the ball bags 82 holding the balls 12 as shown in FIG. 1.

A wicket hanger 90 is also supported by the transverse beam 58. The wicket hanger 90 comprises an arm 92 with an upwardly hooked end 94. The arm 92 extends in a lateral direction from the transverse beam 58 and is generally parallel with the crossbeam 52. As shown by the dashed lines in of FIG. 2 one leg of the U-shaped wickets 16 is hooked over the arm 92 of the wicket hanger 90 and the other leg of the U-shaped wicket 16 may be inserted into a loop 96 projecting from the back side of the crossbeam 52.

The bottom ends of the stakes 18 are retained and supported by the lower stake holders 100 each of which comprises a closed ended tubular section 102 spaced forwardly of stake holder post sleeves 104 through which the lower ends of the posts 22, 24 are received. The stake holders 100 may be secured to the posts 22, 24 by tapping screws 105 passing through the stake holder post sleeves 104 and into the posts 22, 24.

The mallet head retainers 110 are secured to the lower end of the frame 20 to retain the heads of the mallets 14 as best viewed in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, each mallet head retainer 110 has an inner face 112 and an outer face 114. The inner face 112 includes a cross-member recess 116 to receive the respective ends of the cross-member 42 of the base 40. The inner face 112 also includes a post recess 118 to receive the respective lower ends of the posts 22, 24 of the frame 20. The mallet head retainers 110 are secured to the frame 20 by an inner plate 120 fastened by threaded connectors 121. Cross-rods 122, 124 extend between the mallet head retainers 110 to provide rigidity and lateral stability to the mallet head retainers 110. The cross-rods 122, 124 are secured to the mallet head retainers 110 by threaded connectors 125.

The inside face 112 of the mallet head retainers 110 also include mallet head supports 130 arranged in an upwardly stepped relation from the outer transverse ends toward the middle such that the heads of the mallets 14 are stacked in a pyramid or triangular configuration. The pyramid stacking of the mallet heads allows for a more narrow or compact caddy than if the mallet heads were arranged in side-by-side arrangement. Thus the pyramid stacking of the mallet heads reduces packaging size and it also allows individual mallets to be selectively removed from the caddy 10 without having to remove several mallets. For example, if the mallet heads were arranged whereby some mallet heads were stacked in a configuration in which the mallet heads overlapped one another, individual selective removal of the mallets from the caddy could not be achieved. While some may not appreciate the advantage of this configuration, parents will readily appreciate that children often have a favorite color mallet. If the individual mallets cannot be individually, selectively removed from the caddy without removing other mallets that may be stacked on top of the child's desired mallet, then inevitably, several mallets will end up laying on the ground before the child is able to remove the desired mallet. Thus, the croquet caddy 10 with the foregoing arrangement, promotes individual removal of all of the game components, thereby reducing effort in having to pick up after children or others, and provides an aesthetically pleasing and orderly arrangement of all the croquet game components.

Various modifications to the embodiments of the apparatus, and the general principles and features of the embodiments described herein will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Thus, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawing figures, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A croquet game caddy for removably retaining a plurality of croquet mallets for playing a croquet game, each of the croquet mallets having a mallet head and mallet handle, the caddy comprising: a frame having laterally spaced posts and a base; a croquet mallet head retainer attached to said frame, the croquet mallet head retainer having mallet head supports to removably support the plurality of mallet heads in an pyramid configuration.
 2. The croquet game caddy of claim 1 further comprising an upper retainer supported by said frame, said upper retainer releasably retaining the croquet mallet handles in spaced relation.
 3. The croquet game caddy of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of stake holders to removably support croquet stakes.
 4. The croquet game caddy of claim 1 further comprising a wicket holder to removably support croquet wickets.
 5. The croquet game caddy of claim 1 further comprising a ball bag holder to removably support a bag holding croquet balls.
 6. The croquet game caddy of claim 1, wherein said base includes legs extending outwardly in a direction transverse to said base.
 7. The croquet game caddy of claim 6 wherein said legs include wheels such that the caddy is rollable.
 8. The croquet game caddy of claim 7, wherein said base is disposed in a lateral direction and said legs extend in a fore and aft direction with respect to said laterally disposed base such that when the caddy is rolled in said fore or aft direction said base is substantially transverse to said fore or aft direction of rolling.
 9. The croquet game caddy of claim 1, further comprising a handle grip.
 10. The croquet game caddy of claim 9, wherein said handle grip is movable between an upwardly extended position and lower collapsed position.
 11. A croquet game caddy for removably retaining a plurality of croquet mallets for playing a croquet game, each of the croquet mallets having a mallet head and mallet handle, the caddy comprising: a frame having laterally spaced posts and a base; a first mallet head retainer having a middle and outwardly extending transverse ends, and further having mallet head supports arranged in an upwardly stepped relation from said outwardly extending transverse ends toward said middle, said first mallet head retainer attached to said frame proximate said base; a second mallet head retainer having a middle and outwardly extending transverse ends, and further having mallet head supports arranged in an upwardly stepped relation from said outwardly extending transverse ends toward said middle, said second mallet head retainer attached to said frame proximate said base; whereby said mallet head supports of said first and second mallet head retainers are aligned in an opposing relation and spaced to removably support therebetween the croquet mallet heads of the plurality of croquet mallets, wherein the mallet heads are arranged in an upwardly stacked relation from the outwardly extending transverse ends of said first and second mallet head retainers toward said middle of said first and second mallet head retainers.
 12. The croquet game caddy of claim 11 further comprising an upper retainer supported by said frame, said upper retainer releasably retaining the croquet mallet handles in spaced relation.
 13. The croquet game caddy of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of stake holders to removably support croquet stakes.
 14. The croquet game caddy of claim 11 further comprising a wicket holder to removably support croquet wickets.
 15. The croquet game caddy of claim 1 further comprising a ball bag holder to removably support a bag holding croquet balls.
 16. The croquet game caddy of claim 11, wherein said base includes legs extending outwardly in a direction transverse to said base.
 17. The croquet game caddy of claim 16 wherein said legs include wheels such that the caddy is rollable.
 18. The croquet game caddy of claim 17, wherein said base is disposed in a lateral direction and said legs extend in a fore and aft direction with respect to said laterally disposed base such that when the caddy is rolled in said fore or aft direction said base is substantially transverse to said fore or aft direction of rolling.
 19. The croquet game caddy of claim 11, further comprising a handle grip.
 20. The croquet game caddy of claim 19, wherein said handle grip is movable between an upwardly extended position and lower collapsed position. 